New Jewelry, yay!!

I usually talk about my Little Lovables shop, but tonight I am finally getting my Jeweled Ambrosia shop together.

I had been trying to find my tripod attachment, and my necklaces really needed to be modeled, and I haven't gotten a good neckpiece yet, so I found this tutorial by BeaG to make my own necklace display. I know it isn't perfect, but for a quick project, I'm happy. How did I do? The octopus necklace I sold tonight is posing on it :)



Anyways, I just love bright, colorful, vintage, lucite and plastic beads, Czech glass and I also love the more demure aged brass jewelry as well, so my shop will feature the best of both worlds. Here are the two newest pieces that I put in tonight. (Of course I can only really photograph and list when the little ones are sleeping, hence the crazy a.m. hours...)

My First Plushie Sold!!

I'm so excited! I had tons of pink fur scraps left over from my puppets, and I just couldn't throw them away... so I made a little plushie out of them. I have only listed the two so far, an orange armless Hammie, and my pretty pink Cecily.

Cecily has been adopted into a new home! I am definately going to have to make more of these plushies because they are so fun to create. I will have to say goodbye to her now! She is shown pictured here with her little pig friend from Bubbletime.

Also, my mom and I packed up the kiddos and went to a high school craft fair. We were planning on doing this one, but decided against it due to hectic schedules. Oh my goodness, there were only about 12 venders there! Twelve! I wonder if it was because of Spring (as usually Fall ones are pretty decent around here), or if this particular school just doesn't get much publicity.


I felt really bad about it (I'm the type that can pity buy just to make a slow booth's day), but I told everyone who sold handmade goods about Etsy, and gave them my card so that they could check it out. I came out of there with a lovely handmade apple cinnamon scented candle from Cattle Ranch Candles (click on pic for contact email). I set it up with my great-grandmother's lovely lamb figurine and some sweet Texas tulips.

Family Time:Toddler Crayon Tarts Tutorial

I have seen these around and have always loved making artwork from crayon pencil shavings, so when my son started breaking his crayons in half (and eating them), I knew I had to do something! I wanted to make chunks for them, but wasn't exactly sure how. Then I came across the Martha Stewart Good Thing for Kids Get Crafty little book.

I followed the directions and made these! Here is a little tutorial:

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

2. Score the paper of the crayons to easily peel them off (my idea, not Martha's hehee). Be careful on this part!

3. Chop crayons in "pea size" pieces.

4. Place chunks in muffin tins. I only have circle muffin tins, but they would be very cute in star, heart or any other shaped tins you may have!

5. I put only 2 crayons per tin, but you can mix it up and have fun!

6. Bake for 15-20 mins, or until wax is melted. Take out of oven. I chose to take a toothpick and swirl it around the wax for a "marbled" effect. (again, my idea!)

7. Cool until hardened. A cloudy film will develop on top. Put cupcake tin in freezer for a short while and the crayons will easily pop right out. You can easily flake off the filmy residue on the sides with your fingernail. (White flakes in picture below are from doing this).

These would be cute party favors, maybe stack 2 together and tie a bow around it. Or make them in egg shaped cups and put them in the Easter basket! My son loved stacking them like blocks just as much as he liked coloring!

If you aren't up to making these, I have them for sale in my Etsy store!

Animal Rescue Tearjerkers

Something about true stories makes me a little emotional. Add in an animal or many animals and I have that tear bubble in the back of my throat, and a bit of wetness around my eyes. (Does anyone else know what I mean by this?)

I remember an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, where Deborah had to have a good cry. She put on music, got a box of tissues and started balling. Everyone was worried about what was bothering her, but she explained she just needed to cry. I so related to her, and when I feel I need a little release of everyday stress, I watch videos like these!

Lion Reunited With Rescuer Video:

This woman found a sick, malnourished lion cub in the jungle. She took the cub home and fed him and brought him up until he was too big to keep anymore. Then she made arrangements with a zoo in Colombia to take the lion. Here's a video of what happened when she went to visit him in the zoo for the first time.



Netherland Horse Rescue Video:

Over 200 horses got stuck on a small island in the Netherlands for days after a heavy storm. People feared for the lives of many horses, as 19 had already died after 2 failed rescue attempts. The amazing rescue and beautiful music may possibly bring you to tears. This video is 7 minutes long, but I am telling you, it is worth it! The pictures were captured from the BBC.

Sorry I couldn't post the video! Click HERE to watch it.

For those wondering about the music, it is *believed* to be Vangelis' main theme from the film 1492 — Conquest of Paradise.

How To Photograph Your Items

Etsy Holiday How-To #4: Photographing your items

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This video, put on by the wonderful folks at Etsy Labs, covers some basics for taking excellent photos of your products. You can't sell very well if people can't see what it is you are selling!! Remember, when people are searching for an item, they have a lot of photos to look at before they click on "the one", if your item is perfect, but doesn't stand out amongst the other pictures, then it will easily fade into the background.

I had an Etsy Labs shop critique done (yes, I got very lucky that day!), and the tips they gave me for my photos were to:

1. DO NOT USE FLASH!!! It is e.v.i.l. Use natural sunlight as much as possible. So I did that, and it was too bright. I just used the Quick fix in my very simple free photo editing software to tone it down some. If you need a Lightbox, there are plenty of tutorials to make one, see HERE for a great tutorial.

2. USE A TRIPOD!!! I haven't done this yet, as I have found my tripod, but not the attachment for the camera. But I am getting desperate to have less fuzzy pics, so maybe I will have to tape the camera on!

3. USE THE MACRO SETTING!!! It looks like a flower. Find it. Use it.

4. USE NICE BACKGROUNDS!!! Crop your first thumbnail pic to be close, but for the other 4 features have fun with the backgrounds. Don't lay something on a bed, couch or eeek... the floor! Try different backgrounds like a distressed book cover, or tea stained journal pages, simple cardstock in pretty colors, pose it with a figurine or plant. Don't have a lightswitch or outlet in the background if you are taking a modeled shot against the wall. Have fun, take lots of angles and experiment!

5. Photoshop is nice and expensive!! FREE photoediting software like GIMP and PICASA can do a lot of what Photoshop can. There are lots of Gimp tutorials and Picasa tutorials online to use these programs too.

Messes

I am sitting on the couch taking care of the baby, my 2 year old sitting next to me. Of course, he and our dog are playing a bit of tug o war, she's barking like mad and he's in a giggling frenzy.

All of a sudden, he starts screaming, I look over and bright red blood is everywhere! I put the baby down, thinking, "Oh my gosh, did he get bitten?" I rush him to the bathroom and search wildly for scratches, bite marks, anything...

He is amused by the blood in the mirror and starts to stare at in admiration and wonder, a little smile across his face. I realize this was just a very random and harmless nosebleed.

Interesting how something so small, can be so scary.

Tree Jewelry and Nature Inspired Finds

 

A little happy tree from HiTree would be such a sweet gift!

This Spring in a Can would be a beautiful adornment for a side table, or even to give as an Easter gift!

This living wall planter would be perfect for a home without a garden area, or anyone who loves plants!

What a neat idea! "Drape a gleaming stainless steel necklace around your precious. Fitted on indestructible marine line, finished with marine hardware".

They even have more necklaces and chokers on the Tree Jewelry website. Something I could see in Galadriel's forest perhaps?

Now this rose carved metal chair is a true beauty that needs no pruning.